A recent outspoken defence of local culture was the result of a "psychological imbalance" among Hongkongers who felt powerless when faced with the mainland's economic growth, said speakers at a pro-Beijing forum yesterday.

Compared with the controversy surrounding fellow executive councillor Franklin Lam Fan-keung last year, the political fallout from the investigation of Barry Cheung Chun-yuen's Hong Kong Mercantile Exchange could be far heavier.

Let's define what racism is if that is even possible. Was the recent TV commercial by General Motors racist? It used lyrics of a 1930s song that described China as the land of Fu Manchu where people say "ching-ching, chop suey". An apologetic GM quickly killed the advert. Was what Executive and Legislative Councillor Regina Ip Lau Suk-yee said on radio last week racist?

Pressure on Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying over the illegal structures at his property on The Peak increased yesterday as a member of the Executive Council and lawmakers from across the political spectrum urged him to give a detailed explanation.

There's been some response from readers to our report of Regina Ip Lau Suk-yee's exchange with Paul Zimmerman on Facebook. She, it will be recalled, erupted when he addressed her as "darling". Ip exclaimed, "But I cannot stand Zimmerman 'darling' me. Really this sort of patronising remark really makes me sick. Reminds me of the ugly colonial era."